Creation of a reference point to mark a media presentation

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and software for the marking of media modules. Embodiments described herein include a system and method for creating a reference point on a first device. The reference point may be used to mark a point of a media module being presented on a second device by correlating the reference point on the first device to the point to be marked in the presentation of the media module presented on the second device. The media module or a copy of the media module may be presented in a presentation module utilizing the marked point created using the reference point.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to concurrently filed U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/612,353, entitled “Creation of a Marked MediaModule,” which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for the presentation andmarking of media modules.

BACKGROUND

Most media modules, such as audio, visual, and video media are presentedto and consumed by a user in a linear fashion. The user typically startsfrom some starting point of the media and proceeds through to some endpoint. If the user desires to stop consuming the media at some point ofinterest between the start and end point, and to resume consuming themedia at that point at a later time or on a different device, the usermay be faced with locating the media module, or a copy thereof, andscanning the media to locate the point of interest. There is currentlyno method to resume the media on a second device starting from the pointof interest without the user having to scan through the media module.

SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed herein include systems and methods for marking amedia module. According to one implementation, one or more computerreadable media are described that may include executable instructionsthat, when executed, direct software to create a reference point on afirst device to mark a point of a media module being presented on asecond device. The one or more computer readable media may include alsoexecutable instructions that correlate the reference point on the firstdevice to the point to be marked in the presentation of the media modulepresented on the second device. The media module or a copy of the mediamodule may then be presented in a presentation module on a third deviceutilizing the marked point created using the reference point.

Other embodiments include systems for creating a marked media module.One such system may have a reference point creation module to create areference point for marking a media module presented on a first mediapresentation device. The system may also have a reference pointcorrelation module to create a marked media module using the referencepoint by correlating the reference point created with the referencepoint creation module to a point in the media module presented on themedia presentation module at the moment that the reference point wascreated. A second media presentation device may be operable to accessthe marked media module and present the marked media module commencingwith the marked reference point.

Other embodiments include software modules for marking a media module.One such software module may have a reference point creation module tocreate a reference point to mark a point of a media module beingpresented on a first device, and a reference point correlation module tocorrelate the reference point to the point in the presentation of themedia module to be marked to create a marked media module.

Other systems, methods, and/or computer program products according toembodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponreview of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, and/or computerprogram products be included within this description, be within thescope of the present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanyingclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a computing device having a media module, mediapresentation module, and marking module for presenting and marking amedia module;

FIG. 2 shows a system for presenting a media module on a first mediapresentation device, creating a marked media module on the first mediapresentation device and sending the marked media module to mediapresentation devices and/or media storage devices;

FIG. 3 shows a system for presenting a media module on a first mediapresentation device, creating a reference point on a reference pointrecordation device and resuming presentation of the media module on thereference point recordation device, which is a second media presentationmodule, using the reference point to resume the presentation from amarked point that corresponds to the point at which the reference pointwas created;

FIG. 4 shows a system for presenting a media module on a first mediapresentation device, creating a reference point on a reference pointrecordation device and resuming presentation of the media module on asecond media presentation module, which is not the reference pointrecordation device, using the reference point to resume the presentationfrom a marked point that corresponds to the point at which the referencepoint was created; and

FIG. 5 shows a system for presenting a media module on a first mediapresentation device, creating a reference point on a reference pointrecordation device and sharing the reference point, or a marked mediamodule created using the reference point, with other users or devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods for creating a marked media file will now bedescribed with more particularity and with reference to the drawings.

Personal Consumption Mode

According to a first implementation, various tools and techniquesdescribed herein may present a media module to a user, and may enablethe user to consume the media module. The media module may contain datathat is typically presented in a serial manner, such as audio, visual,or video media. Additionally, the tools and techniques may create amarked media module for enabling the user to quickly and easily returnto a marked point of interest at a later time. The marked media modulemay be a marker, plurality of markers or modified version of theoriginal media module and may be shared with other devices or otherusers. The original user and consumer of the media module, i.e. theperson who created the marked media module, may control the originalpresentation of the media content. Thus, this implementation may bereferred to as a “personal consumption mode.” As described in moredetail below, the personal consumption mode may allow a user to share amarked media module between devices for which that user is registered.The personal consumption mode may also allow the user to share one ormore marked media modules with selected users. The personal consumptionmode will now be described with more detail, and by way of example, withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, a media presentation device 102 may present a mediamodule 100 to a user through a media presentation module 104. The mediamodule 100 may reside within computer readable media 105 and may containaudio, visual, or video content or any other form of serially consumablemedia content or the like and may be digital or analog in nature. Forexample, the media module 100 may be a video file in digital format,such as a movie file. The movie or video file may be a Moving PicturesExperts Group (MPEG) file, e.g. MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MPEG-7, MPEG-21;or other file, such as those commonly referred to as a Quicktime format(MOV), Audio Video Interleave (AVI), and Windows Media Video (WMV)files. The media module 100 may alternatively be an audio file such asthose commonly referred to as MPEG layer 3 (MP3), Waveform audio format(WAV), Ogg format (OGG), Windows Media Audio (WMA), and MusicalInstrument Digital Interface (MIDI) file. These lists are exemplary onlyand are not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive.

The presentation module 104 may include a media presentation softwareapplication, firmware, or the like. The media presentation module 104may be transparent to the user or may incorporate user interaction. Themedia presentation module 104 may be located on computer readable media105 or may be accessed remotely by the media presentation device 102.The media presentation module 104 may have playback control 106 to allowthe user to control the presentation of the media module 100. Thus,continuing with the digital video example, the media presentation module104 may be a video player software application (hereafter “videoplayer”). The media presentation module 104 may have the playbackcontrol 106, which may provide the user with the following functions:“play,” “stop,” “pause,” “fast forward,” “reverse,” “jump to,” “timelapse bar” or other control.

The media presentation device 102 may be any device that is operable topresent the media module 100 to a user through the presentation module104 located on the computer readable media 105 and connected to theprocessor 110. For example, the media presentation device 102 may be adesktop or laptop computer, audio playback device (e.g. an mp3 player),text display device, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant(PDA) or other handheld device, digital camera, television monitor,gaming console, wristwatch display, or the like.

The computer-readable media 105 may include a marking module 108 thatcreates a marked media module 100′, so that the presentation may beresumed relative to the point at which an interrupt occurred previously,or at any other point of interest. In possible implementations, themarking module 108 may perform these functions in response to usercommand or input. The marking module 108 may be incorporated with orindependent of the media presentation module 104. For example, themarking module 108 may be presented to and accessed by the user throughthe media presentation module 104. Alternatively, the marking module 108may be a separate application, program, or algorithm from presentationmodule 104, with the marking module 108 operating in conjunction withthe presentation module 104 to create the marked media module 100′.

The marked media module 100′ may be a modified form of the originalmedia module 100 in which one or more marked points may be easilyaccessed without scanning through the media to locate the marked point.The modified media may have an indicator that prompts the mediapresentation module 104 or a similar media presentation module to resumepresenting marked media module 100′ from the marked point.Alternatively, the marked media module 100′ may include one or moremarkers or place identifiers created and stored as data. This data maybe used with the original or another copy of the media module 100 tolocate the specific point in the media module 100 to which the markerrefers.

If the marked media module 100′ is a modified form of the original mediamodule 100, any unwanted portion of original media module 100 may bediscarded. For example, a portion already presented to and consumed bythe user, or unwanted by the user, may be discarded or “cropped.”Alternatively or additionally, the user may wish to discard media thatwould be presented in a serial manner at some point after the referencepoint. One example would be the originally presented media module 100 inwhich the user knows that only a certain portion of the media module 100will be consumed relative to a particular mark. The marking module 108may crop the portion of the content of media module 100 already viewedas well as a portion of the content at some point after the markedpoint.

As a more particular example, assume that a user is viewing a videomedia file that is 2 hours in length, and that the user wishes to markthe media at a given point 30 minutes into the video. If the user knowsthat the last 60 minutes are of no interest, the user may request thatthe marking module 108 create a marked media module 100′ that may startfrom the marked point at 30 minutes into the video and may end 60minutes from the end of the video.

Similarly, when media is presented serially, but divided into chapters,the user may desire to consume only one or several chapters, beginningwith the marked point. The user may request that the marking module 108create a marked media module, such as the marked media module 100′,comprising media resuming from the reference point through the end ofthe chapter or including as many additional chapters as desired.Creating a cropped version of the media module 100 may reduce the sizeof the marked media module 100′, in terms of length and bytes of data,as the user consumes the media. Additionally, by creating a croppedversion of the media module 100, in which the marked media file startsfrom the mark, the marking module 108 may enable the user to more easilyresume from the marked point, rather than having to search for themarked point.

The marked media module 100′, whether a modified version of the originalmedia module or a separate marker, may contain or be associated with aninformation module 109. For example, the information module 109 mayindicate information such as who created the marked media module 100′,what content is contained in and/or marked by the marked media module100′, source descriptor information, media format information, themarked media module 100′ creation date (e.g. timestamp, point during thepresentation at which the marker was created, etc.), and/or otherdescriptive information (original presentation device information,etc.). If the media module 100 and/or the marked media module 100′ aredigital in nature, the marked media module 100′ may refer to the markedpoint as a single byte of information or it may reference multiple bytesor a block of information, such as a chapter of a book or video, or evena particular page of a written text.

The marked media module 100′ may then be saved for future presentationon the presentation device 102. The marked media module 100′may bestored on a central storage module for retrieval by the original mediapresentation device or other media presentation devices, or forresumption on another media presentation device, as will be described infurther detail below with regard to the personal consumption modeimplementation shown in FIG. 2. The example shown in FIG. 2 will bedescribed with regard to video media, though it is intended that themedia could be in an audio, visual, or other media format.

1. Presentation of Media Module

According to the implementation shown in FIG. 2, the media module is avideo 200 presented using video presentation software on a computer 202so that a user may watch, listen, and otherwise experience the video200. The video 200 and the video presentation software may originallyreside on the computer 202. The computer 202 may be connected through anetwork 203, such as the Internet, to a storage server 204. This server204 may be accessible only by a certain user, or may be made accessibleto one or more other users. Thus, the video 200 and/or the videopresentation software may alternatively be stored on the storage server204 and/or accessible to the computer 202.

2. Consumption Interruption

The user may consume the media, such as the video 200, in a serialmanner, but an interrupt may occur at some point during thepresentation. For example, the user may pause or stop the video 200,intending to resume playing the video from the paused point at a latertime. In such an instance, the user may desire to mark the video 200 ata certain point and resume from that point. For convenience, this markmay be generally shown in FIG. 2 using a time lapse bar 206. A firstside 208 of the bar 206 refers to the starting point of the video 200. Asecond side 210 of the bar 206 refers to the end point of the video 200,or to the end point of a selected portion of the video 200, such as achapter or scene. A marked point 212 may illustrate that the video 200may have progressed to the point at which the user desires to create themark. It should be noted that the bar 206 is provided to illustrate theserial nature of the presentation of the video 200, and to show that thevideo 200 has progressed to some specific point during the presentation.However, the presentation module and presentation device need notdisplay any such time lapse bar 206.

3. Creation of Marked Media Module

The user may request that the marking module 108 create one or moremarks with respect to the media module 100 at any desired point. Forexample, the user may desire to pause or stop the media presentation,and to resume the presentation of the media from the stopped point at alater time. The mark may be created in response to voice, keystroke, orother input, such as input from an input device. The user may requestthat the marking module 108 manually or automatically create a markedform of the originally presented media content. The marked media may bea modified form of the original media module, or may be a markerconsisting of data that allows the user to return to the marked point.In some instances, if the marked media file is a modified form of theoriginal media module, the modified media module may replace theoriginal media module. In other instances, the marked media file may besaved or stored as a new module, so that the originally presented mediamodule may be retained in its original form.

With reference to FIG. 2, the marked video 200′ may be a copy or versionof the video 200, with a marked point, such as the marked point 212,inserted in the media. Other marked points may similarly be created andincluded in the marked video 200′. The modified video module 200′ mayinclude an indicator that prompts the media presentation module 104located on computer 202 or other device to resume from the mark 212 orother mark. Additionally or alternatively, any unwanted portion of thevideo 200 may be discarded. For example, the portion already viewed andconsumed by the user may be “cropped” as described above.

Additionally, instead of copying or duplicating the original video 200,the marked video module 200′ may include one or more markers or placeidentifiers. The marked video module 200′ as a marker or plurality ofmarkers may include information regarding the marked point 212, i.e. themedia format, content, and location of the marked point 212 in the video200, etc. Such a marker may be used with the original or another copy ofthe video 200 to locate the marked point 212 in the video 200. Creatingthe marked video module 200′as a marker or plurality of markersminimizes the size of the marked video module 200′ by not including anycontent of the video.

4. Storing/Sending/Accessing the Marked Media Module

The marked video module 200′ may be saved on the computer 202, sent tothe storage server 204 for retrieval by the computer 202 or by othermedia presentation devices, or it may be sent directly to another mediapresentation device. For example, the marked video module 200′ may bestored in the storage server 204 that may be accessible to a cellularphone 214, a display 216, a handheld device 218 or any other devicecapable of presenting video media. The original user or anotherauthorized user may then retrieve the marked module 200′ forpresentation or consumption. The user may locate and/or retrieve themarked video module 200′ using a search engine or other searchingmodule.

Alternatively or additionally, the marked video 200′ may be sentdirectly to one or more of the devices 214, 216, 218, or the like. Thus,if a user were viewing the video 200 on the computer 202, the user mayrequest that the marking module 108 mark the video 200 to create themarked video module 200′ and send the marked video 200′ to, for example,the handheld device 218 so that the video 200′ could continue to beviewed while the viewer was away from the computer 202. The operation ofsending may be accomplished through a communication cable, such as aUniversal Serial Bus (USB) cable, through a wireless connection, orother suitable communication connection.

In the event that the marked media module takes the form of auser-created marker or markers referencing a media module, such as thevideo 200, the user may use the computer 202 or other media presentationdevice together with the marker to locate the video 200, or a copy ofthe video 200. The user may additionally or alternatively use thecomputer 202 or other media presentation device together with the markerto locate the marked point 212 in the video 200. The marker or a mediapresentation module, such as the media presentation module 104 in FIG.1, may be configured to commence presentation of the video 200 startingat the marked point 212 based on information contained in the markedmedia module. Creating a marked media module as a marker or plurality ofmarkers that do not modify the video 200 may result in a marked mediamodule that is relatively small in size, as it contains little or novideo content, but may be combined with any copy of the video 200 storedin any location. Additionally, due to its relatively diminutive size, amarker or markers may be more easily shared between devices and/or usersthan a modified form of the original media.

In addition to, or as an alternative to, storing the marked video 200′on the original presentation device, such as the computer 202, themarked video 200′ may be stored in the storage server 204 accessible byone or more other users and/or devices. The one or more users and/ordevices may request retrieval of the marked video 200′ from the storageserver 204 in order to present the marked video 200′. For example, themarked video 200′ may be accessed by the handheld device 218 through thenetwork 203, which may have wired or wireless components. The user ofthe device 218 may search through the network 203 using a search engineto locate the storage server 204 and/or specifically the marked video200′. The marked video 200′ may be presented together with other markedmedia modules so that users may select one or more media modules forpresentation and consumption.

In some instances, the marked video 200′ (or marker referring to video200) may be available to other users through the network 203. In such aninstance, the user who originally consumed and created the marked video200′ may notify one or more other users of the location and/or otheridentifying and descriptive characteristics of the marked video 200′ (ormarker referring to the video 200). The one or more users may obtainaccess information to access the marked video 200′.

The marked media module 200′ may additionally be converted from onemedia format to another. For example, the video 200 may be converted toa corresponding audio presentation. Thus, a user watching the video 200on the computer 202 may request that the marking module 108 create amarked audio version 200″ of the video 200 and send it directly, orindirectly, to an audio media presentation device, such as a hand heldpersonal audio device 220. The user may then consume the media in anaudio form commencing from a point coinciding with the marked point 212created with respect to the video 200. This conversion may be performedby translating the marked point 212 in the video 200 to a correspondingpoint in a corresponding audio file or to the audio content of the video200.

Public Consumption Mode

According to another implementation, various tools and techniquesdescribed herein may be used to create a reference point on a markingdevice to mark a point of a media module being presented on a mediapresentation device. The media module may contain data that is typicallypresented in a serial manner, such as audio, visual, or video media. Areference point creation module may enable a user to create a referencepoint on the marking device. A reference point correlation module maycorrelate the reference point on the marking device to a point of thepresentation of the media module. A presentation module may enable theuser to continue presentation of the media module or of a modified formof the media module by utilizing the reference point. The deviceoriginally presenting the media module may present the media module tothe public and may or may not be controlled by the user controlling thereference point creation device. Therefore, this implementation may begenerally referred to as a “public consumption mode.” The publicconsumption mode will now be described with more detail, and by way ofexample, with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5.

According to the implementation shown in FIG. 3, a system is illustratedfor creating a reference point relative to the presentation of a mediamodule 300. A first media presentation device 302 may present the mediamodule 300 through a media presentation module 304. The media module 300may contain audio, visual, or video content or any other form ofserially consumable media or the like and may be digital or analog innature. For example, the media module 300 may be a video file in digitalformat, such as a Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) file, e.g. MPEG4-MPEG 7-MPEG 21, or a so-called “.mov” file. An information module 305may contain information regarding the media module 300, such as mediacontent, presentation information, source information, set list or otherdescriptive information.

The media presentation device 302 may be any device that is operable topresent the media module 300 to a user and/or a public audience throughthe media presentation module 304. For example, the media presentationdevice 302 may be a television monitor, desktop or laptop computer,video display device, audio playback device (e.g. an mp3 player), textdisplay device, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA) orother handheld device, digital camera, gaming console, or the like.

The media presentation module 304 may be a media presentation softwareapplication, firmware, or the like for presenting the media module 300.The media presentation module 304 may be transparent to the user or mayincorporate user interaction. The media presentation module 304 may belocated on, in, or accessed by the media presentation device 302.

The media presentation device 302 may present the media module 300 to auser. The user may or may not have any control over the mediapresentation device 302. In other words, the user may actively interactwith the media presentation device 302 or the user may merely passivelyinteract by consuming media presented on the media presentation device302.

A marking device 306 may, but need not, be a media presentation device.The marking device 306 may be any device that is operable to create areference point using a reference point creation module 308. Thereference point creation module 308 may be located on a computerreadable media 309 and connected to a processor 313 installed on themarking device 306. The reference point may be a timestamp or other datathat can be used for determining the point in the media module 300, forwhich the reference point was created. The reference point creationmodule 308 may be a software application, program, or algorithm or thelike.

A reference point correlation module 310 may enable a user to determineat what point during the presentation of the media module 300 on thepresentation device 302 the user created the reference point. Forexample, in the instance when a user creates a timestamp using thereference point creation module 308, the reference point correlationmodule 310 may enable the user to identify the media module 300 beingpresented on the media presentation device 302 and to determine thepoint in the media module 300 that was presented at the time that thetimestamp was created. The reference correlation module may use thisinformation to create a marked media module 300′. The reference pointcorrelation module 310 may be a software application, program, oralgorithm and may be located on the marking device 306, as shown in FIG.3.

The marking device 306 may communicate with the media presentationdevice 302 and may retrieve or access the information module 305 fromthe media presentation device 302 in creating the reference point or incorrelating the reference point to the media module 300 being presentedon the media presentation device 302. Any or all of the devices 302,306, and/or a device 314 may be communicatively coupled either directly(e.g. through a wired or wireless connection) or through a network 318,such as the Internet.

As shown in FIG. 4, a reference correlation module 410 may additionallyor alternatively be located on the media presentation device 314. Insuch an instance, the correlation between the reference point and thepoint during presentation of the media module 300 desired to be markedcould be performed on the media presentation device 314. The mediapresentation device 314 may communicate with the media presentationdevice 302 and/or the marking device 306 directly or through a network418.

Once the correlation is complete, the marked media module 300′ may bepresented relative to the reference point. The presentation may beresumed on the device 306 if that device is a media presentation deviceequipped with a media presentation module 312. Additionally oralternatively, the marked media module 300′ may be sent to another mediapresentation device, such as the computer 314.

The marked media module 300′ may be a modified form of the originalmedia module 300 so that the marked point may be accessed without theuser scanning through the media content to locate the marked point. Themarked media 300′ may be provided with an indicator that prompts themedia presentation module 312 associated with the device 306 or a mediapresentation module 316 associated with the media presentation device314 to resume from the marked point or that allows the user to otherwisejump to the marked point. Alternatively, the marked media module 300′could be a marker or place identifier relatively independent of themedia module 300. More particularly, the marker may be created andstored as data on the device 306 and/or the device 314 to be used withthe original or another copy of the media module 300 to locate thespecific point in the media module 300 to which the marker refers.

If the marked media module 300′ is a modified form of the original mediamodule 300, any unwanted portion of the original media module 300 may bediscarded. For example, a portion already presented to and consumed bythe user, or unwanted by the user, may be discarded or “cropped.”Alternatively or additionally, the user may wish to discard media thatwould be presented in a serial manner at some point after the referencepoint. One example would be the originally presented media module 300 inwhich the user knows that only a certain portion of the media module 300will be consumed relative to a particular mark. The user may crop theportion of the content of the media module 300 already viewed as well asa portion of the content at some point after the reference point.

As a more particular example, assume that a user is viewing a videomedia file that is 2 hours in length, and that the user wishes to markthe media at a given point 30 minutes into the video. If the user knowsthat the last 60 minutes are of no interest, the user may request thatthe reference point correlation module 310 create the marked mediamodule 300′. This marked media module 300′ may start from the markedpoint at 30 minutes into the video and may end 60 minutes from the endof the video.

Similarly, when media is presented serially, but divided into chapters,the user may desire to consume only one or several chapters beginningwith the marked point. The user may create the marked media module 300′comprising media resuming from the reference point through the end ofthe chapter or including as many additional chapters as desired.Cropping the media module 300 or creating a cropped copy of the mediamodule 300 may reduce the size of the media module 300′, in terms oflength and bytes of data, as the user consumes the media. Cropping themedia module 300 at the marked point, may allow the user to more easilyresume from the marked point rather than having to search for or jump tothe marked point.

The marked media module 300′, whether a modified version of the originalmedia module or a separate marker, may contain or be associated withdescriptive information. For example, the marker may indicateinformation such as who created the marked media module 300′, whatcontent is contained in and/or marked by the marked media module 300′,source descriptor information, media format information, mark creationdate and time (e.g. timestamp, point during the presentation at whichthe marker was created, etc.), and/or other descriptive information. Ifthe media module 300 and/or the marked media module 300′ are digital innature, the marked media module 300′ may refer to the reference point asa single byte of information or it may reference multiple bytes or ablock of information, such as a chapter of a book or video, or even aparticular page of a written text.

The marked media module 300′ may be saved for future presentation on themarking device 306, on the media presentation device 314 or on a centralstorage module for retrieval by or other media presentation devices, oron another media presentation device, as will be described in furtherdetail below with regard to the public consumption mode implementationshown in FIG. 5.

1. Presentation of Media Module

According to the example shown in FIG. 5, the media module may be avideo 500 presented on a first video monitor 502, such as a monitor inan airport that presents broadcast television or video media contentthat is contained in, or referred to by, a data set or play listavailable to a user and/or the public. The user may consume the media bywatching, listening and/or otherwise experiencing the video 500. Thevideo 500 and/or an associated play list may be stored on a storagedevice 504. The storage device 504 may be communicatively coupled withthe media presentation device 502. The media storage device 504 may alsobe connected to a network 503, such as the Internet, so that one or moreusers may obtain information related to the play list and/or thepresentation of the media module 500. Additionally or alternatively,information regarding the play list and/or the presentation of the mediamodule 500 may be made available to the user without providing access tothe storage device 504.

For convenience, progression of the video in a serial fashion may begenerally shown in FIG. 5 using a time lapse bar 506. A first side 508of the bar 506 refers to the starting point of the video 500. A secondside 510 of the bar 506 refers to the end point of the video 500 or tothe end point of a selected portion of the video 500, such as a chapteror scene. A marked point 512 may represent the point during thepresentation of the video 500 at which the user desires to resume thepresentation using another media presentation device. It should be notedthat the bar 506 is provided to illustrate the serial nature of thepresentation of the video 500 and to show that the video 500 may haveprogressed to some specific point during the presentation, but that thepresentation module and presentation device need not display any suchtime lapse bar 506.

2. Creation of a Reference Point to Mark the Media Module

While consuming the video 500 presented on the monitor 502, the user mayexperience an interruption or may desire to mark a point of interest.The user may or may not control the first media presentation device 502.Thus, the user may use the marking device 306 having the reference pointcreation module 308 to create a reference point corresponding to themark point 512 during the presentation by recording referenceinformation on the reference point creation module 308. Moreparticularly, the marking device 306 may be a cellular telephone,digital wristwatch, personal media presentation device or the like. Thereference point 512 may be created by voice, keystroke, or other input,such as input from an input device to instruct the reference pointcreation module 308 to create a reference point.

Using the cellular telephone as an example, the cellular telephone maybe equipped with reference point creation software and/or hardware. Theuser may provide some input to designate a reference point, which may beindependent of the point 512 desired to be marked by the user (hereafter“mark point”), but which may be correlated to the mark point 512. Forexample, the user may provide an input that creates a time stampreference point. The user may also input relative presentationinformation such as the source and/or location of the presentation ofthe video 500 as well as other identifying information. A referencepoint correlation module, such as the reference point correlation module310, may correlate the timestamp to the media presentation informationin order to determine the mark point 512. The user may input the mediapresentation information manually using a key pad, voice recordingmodule, or voice recognition module.

Additionally or alternatively, the marking device 306 may be capable ofcoupling with the media presentation device 502 through a wired orwireless coupling to obtain the relevant information regarding the video500 or a copy of the video 500. The marking device 306 may be furtheroperable to download the information or copy from the media presentationdevice 502 and/or storage device 504. The media presentation device 502and/or storage device 504 may indicate the point during the presentationof the video 500 that the reference point was created by the user.Additionally or alternatively, the media presentation device 502 and/orstorage device 504 may provide a play list or a dataset as informationfor correlation of the reference point to the mark point 512.

3. Creation of a Marked Media Module

The reference point correlation module 310 may allow the user todetermine at what point during the presentation of the video module 500the reference point was created. For example, if the user created a timestamp on a cellular telephone, the reference point correlation module310 may use the time stamp together with the information collected increating the reference point to identify the video module 500 beingpresented on the first media presentation device 502 and to determinethe desired mark point 512. This information may be used to create amarked video module 500′.

The marked video module 500′ may be created as a modified form of theoriginal video module 500 in which the marked point 512 may be easilyaccessed without the user having to scan through the video module 500 tolocate the marked point 512. For example, the marked media module 500′may be a copy or version of the video module 500 with the mark point512. The modified video module 500′ may have an indicator that promptsthe media presentation module 312 located on the marking device 306 orother device to resume from the mark point 512. Additionally oralternatively, any unwanted portion of the video 500 may be may bediscarded. For example, the portion already viewed and consumed by theuser may be discarded or “cropped.” Thus, if a user has the markingdevice 306, such as a cellular telephone, with the media presentationmodule 312, the user may use the reference point correlation module 310to create the marked video module 500′ for viewing on the device 306starting at the mark point 512.

The marked video module 500′ may instead be a marker or placeidentifier, which may minimize the size of the marked video module 500′by not including any content of the video module 500, but insteadincluding the mark point 512 information for later correlation. Such amarker may be used with the original or another copy of the video module500 to locate the mark point 512 in a subsequent presentation of thevideo module 500. Additionally or alternatively, the marker may be sentto a computer 314 which may be provided with the reference pointcorrelation module 410, as shown in FIG. 4, in order to resume watchingthe marked video module 500′ on the computer 314.

4. Storing/Sending/Accessing the Marked Media Module

The marked video module 500′ may be saved on, for example, the markingdevice 306 or the computer 314, and made available to other mediapresentation devices or sent directly to another media presentationdevice. The marked video module 500′ may be made accessible through thenetwork 503 to a handheld device 514 or any other device capable ofpresenting video media. The original user or another authorized user maythen retrieve and view the marked video module 500′. The operation ofsending directly between two devices may be accomplished through acommunication cable, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable, througha wireless connection, or other suitable communication connection.

The user or users of the devices 306, 314, 514 and other mediapresentation devices may search through the network 503 using a searchengine to locate and access the marked video 500′. The marked video 500′may be presented together with other marked media modules so that usersmay choose between one or more media modules for presentation andconsumption.

In the event that the marked video module 500′ (or marker referring tovideo module 500) is made available to other users through the network503, the user who originally consumed and created the marked videomodule 500′ may notify one or more other users of the location and/orother identifying and descriptive characteristics of the marked videomodule 500′ (or marker referring to video module 500). The one or moreusers may obtain access information to access the marked media 500′.

The marked media module 500′ may additionally or alternatively beconverted from one media format to another. For example, the markedvideo module 500′ may be converted to a corresponding audio presentationmodule 500″. Thus, a user watching the video module 500 on the monitor502 may create a marked audio module version 500″ of the video module500 and consume the media in an audio form commencing from a pointcoinciding with the mark point 512 through the phone speaker or otheraudio output mechanism. Additionally or alternatively, the user may sendthe marked audio version 500″ either directly or indirectly to an audiomedia presentation device, such as hand held personal audio device 516.This conversion may be performed by translating the marked point 512 inthe video module 500 to a corresponding point in a corresponding audiofile or to the audio portion of the video module 500.

CONCLUSION

Although the invention has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological steps, it is to be understoodthat the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarilylimited to the specific features or steps described. Rather, thespecific features and steps are disclosed as preferred forms ofimplementing the claimed invention.

1. A method, comprising: presenting a recorded media module; receiving aplurality of reference points, created by a first device, to mark aposition in the recorded media module and to mark another position inthe recorded media module; storing a copy of the recorded media module;inserting the plurality of reference points in the copy of the recordedmedia module to mark the position and the another position in the copyof the recorded media module; discarding a portion of the copy of therecorded media module occurring before the position in the recordedmedia module; discarding another portion of the copy of the recordedmedia module occurring after the another position in the recorded mediamodule; and presenting the copy of the recorded media module occurringbetween the position and the another position in the copy of therecorded media module.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein theplurality of reference points comprises a timestamp.
 3. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein inserting the plurality of reference pointsin the copy of the recorded media module to mark the another position inthe copy of the recorded media module comprises marking a time from anend of the recorded media module.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1,wherein inserting the plurality of reference points in the copy of therecorded media module to mark the position in the copy of the recordedmedia module comprises marking a time from a beginning of the recordedmedia module.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein inserting theplurality of reference points in the copy of the recorded media modulecomprises marking a chapter in the recorded media module.
 6. The methodas recited in claim 1, wherein inserting the plurality of referencepoints in the copy of the recorded media module comprises marking abeginning and marking an end of the chapter in the recorded mediamodule.
 7. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprisingincluding information indicating who created the plurality of referencepoints in the copy of the recorded media module.
 8. The method asrecited in claim 1, further comprising including information indicatinga date of creation of the plurality of reference points in the copy ofthe recorded media module.
 9. The method as recited in claim 1, whereininserting the plurality of reference points in the copy of the recordedmedia module comprises marking a page in the copy of the recorded mediamodule.
 10. A system, comprising: a processor executing instructionsstored in computer readable media that causes the processor to: presenta recorded media module; receive a plurality of reference points,created by a first device, to mark a position in the recorded mediamodule and to mark another position in the recorded media module; storea copy of the recorded media module; insert the plurality of referencepoints in the copy of the recorded media module to mark the position andthe another position in the copy of the recorded media module; discard aportion of the copy of the recorded media module occurring before theposition in the recorded media module; discard another portion of thecopy of the recorded media module occurring after the another positionin the recorded media module; and present the copy of the recorded mediamodule occurring between the position and the another position in thecopy of the recorded media module.
 11. The system according to claim 10,wherein the instructions further cause the processor to mark a time froman end of the recorded media module.
 12. A non-transitory computerreadable medium storing processor executable instructions for performinga method, the method comprising: presenting a recorded media module;receiving a plurality of reference points, created by a first device, tomark a position in the recorded media module and to mark anotherposition in the recorded media module; storing a copy of the recordedmedia module; inserting the plurality of reference points in the copy ofthe recorded media module to mark the position and the another positionin the copy of the recorded media module; discarding a portion of thecopy of the recorded media module occurring before the position in therecorded media module; discarding another portion of the copy of therecorded media module occurring after the another position in therecorded media module; and presenting the copy of the recorded mediamodule occurring between the position and the another position in thecopy of the recorded media module.
 13. The non-transitory computerreadable medium according to claim 12, further comprising instructionsfor adding a timestamp to the copy of the recorded media module.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 12, furthercomprising instructions for marking a time from a beginning of therecorded media module and for marking another time from an end of therecorded media module.
 15. The non-transitory computer readable mediumaccording to claim 12, further comprising instructions for marking achapter in the recorded media module.
 16. The non-transitory computerreadable medium according to claim 12, further comprising instructionsfor marking a page in the recorded media module.